


Undo My Pain

by xXBlackDiamondXx



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt Jughead Jones, Hurt/Comfort, Jughead Jones Needs a Hug, Jughead Jones Whump, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Torture, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:53:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22825183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXBlackDiamondXx/pseuds/xXBlackDiamondXx
Summary: After Bret blackmails Jughead out of school, he has to make another deal with Bret to save the lives of his friends and family. Every night, Jughead awaits the everwaiting torture from Bret and the rest of the Quill and Skull.
Relationships: Alice Cooper & Betty Cooper, Alice Cooper & Jughead Jones, Alice Cooper/FP Jones II, Archie Andrews/Betty Cooper/Veronica Lodge/Jughead Jones, Archie Andrews/Jughead Jones, Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz, FP Jones II & Jughead Jones
Comments: 21
Kudos: 45





	1. Don't Turn Your Back...

**Author's Note:**

> If you don't like, I'm sorry <3  
> And sorry if my chapters are short and I don't post often...I'm really busy.

“I think Donna used her Chipping affair as a smokescreen…”  
Jughead lay across Betty’s bed with his arms sprawled out and eyes closed. Ever since he had made that agreement with Bret to torment him every night, he hadn’t gotten sleep.  
He was beyond exhausted. Memories flashed through his mind of the verbal abuse and manipulation he had endured the past night.  
“Earth to Jughead!”  
He snapped out of his thoughts and rubbed his eyes tiredly.  
“So you want to do what with Donna?” he said as he sat up slowly.  
He saw Betty give him a curious look but then go back to the board.  
“I was saying that maybe we could go into her room and look around, when does she have a study hall?”  
Jughead put his face into his hands and felt his forehead burning up. Along with being tortured by Bret, he was also housing a fever.  
It had started after the meeting of him getting kicked out of Stonewall. He had been confronted by Bret while packing up his things and Bret had threatened to hurt FP and Betty if he didn’t comply to getting “roughed up” as Bret would say by his squad every night at different times, in more ways than one.  
“Jug,” he heard a voice and snapped out of his thinking.  
He looked up to see FP standing beside Betty looking at him worriedly.  
“Are you ok?” he asked with concern laced in his words.  
“Yea, sorry Betty I just spaced out.” he said as he avoided FP’s stare.  
“Ok, well. It’s getting late. Maybe we should head to bed.  
All Jughead could do was nod. He felt his chest rise quicker than before and was worried what he was in for tonight with Bret and the other Quill and Skull club members. He could feel his knuckles turn white as he clenched the bed sheets tight in stress.  
“Goodnight, Jug.” Betty said as she turned off the lights and headed to her room.  
“Mhm…” he looked at the clock and sighed.  
Minutes turned into hours and Jughead just lay in bed shivering. He couldn’t take the anticipation of Bret’s torture. Mental? Physical? He’d been through it all but never wanted to repeat it. Finally, around midnight, he heard his window open quietly and turned around.  
Standing there in the moonlight’s silhouette, stood Bret with his usual smirk of confidence displayed over his face.  
“You ready Forsythe?” he said cruelly as he grabbed Jughead’s arm tightly. “Tonight’s going to be...different. It’s going to be a hectic night and I’m intrigued to see how you react.”  
They exited the house silently and Jughead was dragged into the pitch black woods as torchlight was apparent through the vast amount of branches in the forest. They finally made it into the clearing and Jughead could see three hooded figures standing tall by a flickering fire.  
“You know the rules,” Bret murmured into Jughead’s ear. “Any fighting back, and Betty will pay for your actions.”  
He shoved Jughead forward toward the figures and they all held up belts. One made a motion for Jughead to turn around and stay silent and Jughead complied.  
The beating seemed to last for hours. It started out slowly, one painful lash coming at a time. But soon, he could feel the three people get more crazed, harshly whipping him until finally, Jughead fell to his knees. He assumed that once he fell that they would finish, but no. Once he fell to his knees he heard Bret snicker with satisfaction. He eventually covered his head and curled up into a ball after one belt hit him in the nose. He felt blood rushing down his face as tears pooled around the corners of his eyes. One by one, they slipped down his face softly and he started to whimper as lashes came harder and harder onto his already raw back. He thought he was going to pass out-  
“Alright!” Bret said and the whipping stopped.  
Jughead sniffed quietly and could surely feel blood caked onto the back of his singlet. He felt Bret tug on his arm for him to get up only to throw him back down again.  
“Told you we could get him to break.” he smirked as he saw Jughead tightly screw his eyes shut. “I’m not walking you home, so you better figure out how you’re going to clean yourself up.”  
He then killed the fire as the four Stonewall kids walked away. When they left, Jughead held onto a nearby tree to get himself up. As painful as it was, he was able to make the walk home slowly and get back up into his room without making too much noise. He quietly shut the door to his bathroom and sank against the tub.  
It can only get worse from here…  
If he could assume one thing, Bret’s torments would only get worse, and worse. Jughead grabbed a cloth from the cabinet and proceeded to take off his shirt. He would describe the process as...difficult, the harsh winter winds and dried the blood on Jughead’s slow expedition home and had left caked blood connected to his singlet. He out the cloth in his mouth and in one swift moment, tore it right off. He held back a scream and tossed the shirt to the ground as his eyes watered and breaths became jagged. He turned his back toward the mirror so he could see the damage and he gasped in surprise.  
His entire back was covered in blood. Underneath, bright red welts stuck out against his pasty skin. And he could see dark blue and black bruises from where the buckle had hit on his back. He pursed his lips and tried to clean the wounds as quietly as possible. He had to be quicker than he would’ve liked because of the fear that Betty or FP could wake up any minute and walk in seeing him like this. He bandaged up his back and carefully laid down in his bed. He wanted to get the little hours left of sleep he could muster.  
As he was finally getting into peaceful slumber, he heard his door open and startled, he jumped.instantly, he regretted it, he hid in a hiss as he repositioned himself comfortably.  
“Jug! I’m sorry did I startle you?” Betty said as she came over and sat next to him.  
“N-no, I just slept on my rib wrong...haha.” he said as he avoided eye contact with her.  
“Ok… Well, breakfast is starting if you would like to come down. It’s winter break so we don’t have school.”  
“Mhm…” he said as she exited the room.  
He could feel that the wounds had reopened and cursed softly. This was just what he needed. All that he could do was wait for the next night to come.


	2. How Far Can You Go Until You Break?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I made the first chapter in Google Docs just in case it didn't save and it messed up the formatting. This chapter is going to look different. Thank you for the people that gave me ideas!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos are always appreciated if you'd really want to...

As Betty headed downstairs Jughead sighed, how was he supposed to get through a day with what he had endured last night?

He carefully re-bandaged his wounds and coughed harshly into his hand. Feeling his forehead, he groaned. Great. He was still sick. He pulled on a t-shirt and jeans and

walked down the stairs carefully as to not injure his back. He got downstairs and could see FP and Betty getting coats on.

"Where are you guys going?" his voice sounded too raspy, hope they wouldn't notice.

"Uh, Betty asked me to help her with... something." FP said cautiously. "We'll be back soon. if you need anything, Alice will be here all day."

FP rubbed Jughead's back and it took him everything he had not to wince. They then proceeded out the door and once it shut, Jughead fell to the stairs in a coughing

mess. 

"Jughead?" a voice said from the kitchen. "Are you ok?"

He looked up and saw Alice walking toward him from the kitchen. No. He wasn't ok. His back was on fire, he couldn't seem to breath, and the pain was making him

nauseous. Alice sat down next to him and rubbed his back. Jughead couldn't take it, he felt like throwing up.

He ran to the nearest bathroom while gripping walls alone the way and threw the toilet lid open and expelled his contents. He stopped for a few seconds as Alice rubbed

his back and carefully shook his head.

"Please-no. I-I'll explain later-" 

He continued to throw up and felt Alice sit behind him and rub his shoulder.

"When you finish, it's ok to fall back into my lap."

Jughead at this point was just coughing up bile into the toilet. His arms were shaking visibly and he was shivering too much. He flushed and sat back in Alice's lap, not

caring if his wounds burned. Alice felt his forehead,

"Jeez Jug, you have a fever!" she said as he coughed violently into his arm.

"Maybe it's from being dragged into the woods for the pat two nights by Bret..." he whispered as his shivering intensified.

"Wait what?" Alice said as she sat Jughead up. "What did he do to you?"

"It'll be easier to show you..." he stood up carefully and the sudden head rush caused him to feel dizzy. He lowered his head and dropped down to his knees as a

precaution. 

Alice led him up to his room and sat down on his bed. She eyed him worriedly as she observed the dark circles under his eyes, his thin frame, and the way he seemed to

be holding himself up mechanically. How could no one have noticed before? She watched as Jughead took off his shirt to reveal bandages taking up his entire back.

"Oh my god..." Alice put her hand over her mouth at the bandages. "What has he _done_ to you?"

Jughead sighed, "When Bret forced my expulsion from Stonewall Prep, he confronted me in our room 'one last time.' He made a deal with me, that if I agreed to be

tormented every night by him, he wouldn't hurt my friends and family."

Alice shook her head in disbelief, "Jughead, you have to tell the police about this-"

"No." He said shaking his head. "Bret said that he would know that I told the police and would kill you all. I would tell the police believe me, I would."

Alice noticed the sudden pause and looked up at him. He was looking out the window blankly and then looked back.

"I guess it's a shame that the sheriff happens to be my own father..."

Alice shook her head when Jughead started taking off the bandages. She watched how his face contorted with pain each time he ripped on off. By the end, Alice's face

went pale.

"How the hell did he do this to you?" she said as she examined the welts and bruises on his back. "This-this isn't..."

Jughead stopped her, "Bret has... connections inside Stonewall, he had people belt me for a solid twenty minutes last night. I can assume that it'll only get worse

tonight."

"Jughead, you can't go." Alice started.

"No, Ms. Cooper," he said quietly. "I have too. Otherwise he'll the ones that I love, which includes you..."

" _Me?_ " she said incredulously. "Ever since you and Betty started dating, I've said awful things about you and your father."

"Yea, I know. But, you're the closest thing to a mother I've had in these nine years. You remember when Gladys came back, right?"

Alice nodded, "Your father really loved her, I never got why she left."

Alice could see Jughead shaking his head or shivering. "She left because I found out _she_ was bring back drugs into Riverdale. After I confronted her about it, she didn't

even care if I was her son. She just... I don't know. I almost got shot because of her, I got pushed out a window, I almost got killed during a twisted game of Griffins and

Gargoyles."

"How have to been able to cope with all of this?" she said rubbing his shoulder.

She looked up to see Jughead wiping the ever coming tears. She couldn't move. She'd known Jughead through out high school as the boy who never broke. He hadn't

even cried when he was almost killed by Penny Peabody and her goons. She moved over to him and rubbed his shoulder.

"H-honestly, everything has been too much lately. I still haven't gotten over the time that I was 'fake' buried alive by Bret. I really thought I was going to die."

Tears started streaming down his face, "And now this, I'm getting beaten down _every night_ just to appease this idiot who hates me because _I_ won the Baxter Brother

series contract."

A car roaring outside sent them jumping, "Looks like your father and Betty are back," Alice said. "You need to tell them everything that you told me."

________________________________________________________________later, let's say... 7:00 <3

Betty and FP sat pale as they listened to Jughead reenact his horrors of what he had been going through lately.

"Why didn't you say anything?" FP asked as he looked up at Jughead's dark eyes.

"Well, you're the _Sheriff._ I really couldn't tell you because then you'd try to find him." Jughead frowned and pursed his lips and reached for his back.

"Does it still hurt?" Betty whispered.

Jughead went in for an answer, but instead, doubled over coughing harshly into his elbow. He felt hands sitting him down right and rubbing his shoulder.

"Jesus Jug," FP whispered. "You can't take Bret's tortures on _and_ sport a fever. I'm calling Archie, he's going to make sure that you're good tonight. And no protesting."

An hour later, Archie and Veronica both walked in the house gasping at the sight of Jughead. 

"Oh this Bret kid is _dying._ " Veronica said as she sat down next to Betty. "No one should ever be treated like that."

"Thanks guys but, I'm going to head to bed so I can get _some_ sleep within the past three nights." he said as he coughed harshly and headed upstairs. 

He leaned against walls on the way up as his eyes felt more, and more heavy by the second. His legs finally gave out when he reached his room and strong arms held him

up from behind. 

"Jug, I've never seen you like this before." Archie said as he carried Jughead to his bed. "I can lift you so easily, have you not been eating these past few days?"

"Nope..." Jughead said as he pulled the blanket over himself. Archie made a move to pull off the blanket,

"C'mon Arch, I know this won't help my fever but don't worry, I'll be in the dark cold woods all night dying so that'll definitely clear it up."

Archie frowned, "Not funny. You aren't dying tonight."

"Mkay..." Jug said as he drifted off to the first sleep he'd had in days.

Around midnight, a hand slapped over his mouth.

"You better not make any sound to wake up pretty boy over there." Bret said. Jughead looked over to Archie sleeping in the chair in the corner of his room. He coughed

roughly and Bret pushed him out the window.

By the time that they were in the clearing of the woods, it was only then that Archie woke up and realized that Jughead was gone.

"So, Forsythe, tonight is going to be better than last night, more... intriguing. You won't be able to move during this process and... well, you'll see."

Bret strapped Jughead down to a rough rock in the clearing and grabbed a knife.

"Whoa, whoa... what're you doing?" Jughead asked frantically as he pulled against his binds.

Before he could react, he felt a piercing pain hit his abdomen at least five times before he heard the clinking of metal drop to the floor. Jughead tried desperately to get

away from the situation. He curled into himself and cried softly. Now he knew how Archie felt when he'd been stabbed the previous year. But five times worse. He opened his

eyes to a burning bright red branding iron held tight in his hand.

"Do you know what this says Forsythe?" Bret asked mockingly. "On this very _branding iron,_ it says the word 'worthless.' You do realize that that's what you are, right?"

Jughead closed his eyes as prepared for the intensifying heat. He felt Bret strip him of his shirt. But when it came, it hit his abdomen way harder than something ever 

should. The branding iron stuck to

his skin for a solid two minutes before Bret finally released it. The three hooded figures came out of the shadows and unstrapped him from the rock he was bound to.

"Well, goodnight Forsythe. Hope you have a way to get back to your _lovely_ girlfriend."

The four of them retreated into the woods and instead of getting up like the last night, Jughead couldn't. He lay there in the pitch black of the woods.

"Jughead!" he heard a voice say as footsteps came up to him.

Jughead looked up to see Archie, Betty, Veronica, FP and Alice running toward him. Hands were all over him and before he knew it, the world turned black.


	3. The Burning Feeling In My Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HAHA you'll have to see... just kidding! Uh, basically another night of torture happens after the aftermath of his stabs and brands. (I suck at summaries so COME AT MEE)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading <3

Jughead awoke in the pitch black woods.

Voices overtook his thoughts and his body caught up to reality as piercing pain swarmed his abdomen making in shut his eyes tight.

"Jug! Jug, look at me, c'mon..."

He opened his eyes and saw Betty's face above his own. She worriedly wiped his tears away. When had he started crying?

"I see five stab wounds..." Archie said in horror. "How long has he been laying here?"

"There could be another under this brand." FP said as he looked over to meet Jughead's eyes. "How long have you been laying here?"

Jughead just shook his head rapidly. He then coughed violently into the crook of his arm which only intensified the pain in his abdomen. Rough tree branches and twigs scratched the welts on his back making him in more pain.

"We have to get him back to the house." Alice said as she motioned to Archie.

Archie carefully picked up Jughead but didn't miss the wince that tore through his facade. Archie had always known Jughead as the boy who had stayed strong. First, having his mother and sister leave him. Then, sacrificing himself to save his Serpent family, finding out his mother was the new drug dealer in Riverdale. If anybody deserved

this, it definitely wouldn't be Jughead Jones.

Before they knew it, they had ran back to the Jones' household and could see Jughead's wounds in full, which wasn't a good thing. 

They could now see the multiple knife wounds scattered around with his lower abdomen and the still red brand on his hip.

_Worthless._

Everyone in the room eyed each other as Jughead seemed to fade in and out of consciousness. His eyes seemed glassy and it's as if he didn't know where he was. He screwed his eyes shut and coughed softly. 

FP was the first to snap out of the sorrow. He wasn't going to let his son sit in agony anymore,

"Veronica, can you get bandages from the second floor bathroom?" he said as he got Jughead a pillow for his head.

Betty proceeded to getting him medicine from the kitchen and Alice comforted FP while Archie helped Jughead stay calm. Jughead's breathing started to quicken as Archie rubbed his shoulder.

"Jug, can you sit up please?" Betty said as she came over with water and painkillers. 

She helped him sit up as Archie went upstairs to help Veronica. Jughead carefully took the medication and shakily took the glass all while putting a hand on his aching stomach. He swallowed hard and put his head on Betty's shoulder.

"Why didn't you say anything, Jug?" she asked quietly. "We could've helped sooner."

"I couldn't..." he whispered. "He would've hurt you."

"Jug," she said and looked into his eyes. "I don't care if I'm put in mortal danger by Bret. All I want is for you to be finally safe and away from that, that _school._ "

Jughead just mumbled in response. He was far to tired to be dealing with the mess of his life and just leaned further into Betty.

"I love you, you know." she said quietly and kissed the top of his head.

"Yea."

The voice was so faint that she had barely heard the noise. She looked over to Jughead and saw him looking up at her.

"I love you too, always and forever No matter if I can never see you ever again, I hope _you_ know that."

Betty looked away with tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. He wasn't dying, he didn't deserve any of the crap that happened to him.

"You should get some rest Jug..." she said as she grabbed him a blanket. "Goodnight, I love you."

She ran into the kitchen, running into Alice.

"Whoa Betty, are you ok? Tell me sweetie," she said as she led her shaking daughter to the table.

Betty's whole body shook, too much was happening to the one she loved, the one that didn't deserve all the pain he was experience. She shook her head and ran her hands through her hair. Tears were spilling out of her eyes onto her cheeks.

"I just- he doesn't deserve an ounce of what he is going through and yet, he is." she put her head in her hands and cried. Alice hugged her daughter and put her head on top of hers.

"I know he doesn't..." Alice said quietly.

"No, you wouldn't get it." Betty sniffed. "He's been through too much."

"Except, I would. And I do." Alice said. "We were talking after you both left. He threw up this morning and explained to me how he couldn't deal with this right now. Did he ever tell you the interaction he had with his mother?"

"No, what happened? All I know is that she decided to leave all of a sudden."

"She had been threatening him through the weeks she was here." Alice looked down. "One night, Kurtz lied and said that Jellybean was in danger and FP was shot, Gladys and Penny fought, and Jughead was hurt in multiple ways. Apparently... I'm the closest thing that he's had to a mother in _nine years._ "

Betty just stared at Jughead coughing and lying on the couch. She'd been so caught up in her own problems that she hadn't even realized how hurt he'd been.

"I feel like a terrible girlfriend..." she sighed as she put her head on the table.

"Jesus, it's almost morning!" Alice said. "Betty, it's time to get some rest..."

____________________

Jughead's status hadn't changed during the day. It was now almost nighttime and Jughead's stab wounds were still bleeding steadily. The loss of blood caused him to be tired all day, making the awaiting night seem horrifying. Archie and Veronica had spent the night in Jughead's room and FP had barely slept all night. 

It was about ten at night and everyone was sitting at the table. Jughead had stumbled over and sat next to Betty. They had stayed up talking about random gossip. A knock on the door had sent them all jumping and a sudden chill had seemed to enter the room. FP walked over to the door and opened it slowly. Four people walked into the room, all with guns. FP was shoved to the floor and everyone froze. Jughead turned around and his eyes grew wide.

"Ok." one of the figure's said. They pulled off their hood to reveal Bret. "We don't want any trouble, just give us Forsythe."

Before anyone could protest, Jughead shakily stood up and gave them a look of apology. He was gone in a matter of seconds.

Walking out the door might've been what broke Jughead. But when he walked into the woods, he felt crushing defeat and acceptance. He saw an array of leaves and sticks put in a circle and a sledgehammer leaned up against a rock. He swallowed hard at what he knew was happening tonight and shivered against the cold night air.

"Sit down Forsythe." Bret said sternly. 

Jughead must've waited to long to answer because in a flash, Bret was seizing his throat tightly and shoving him against a tree, agitating his already sore back. Jughead struggled to breathe and gripped Bret's hand helplessly, already weak from previous nights.

"I. Said. Sit. Down." 

Bret let go and Jughead fell to the floor. He could feel bruising forming around his neck and crawled over to the designated sitting spot.

Seconds after he sat down with his legs full length, he heard the sound of an object moving through air and opened his eyes too late. Bret had swung the sledgehammer down full force landing it spot on his ankle. Jughead whimpered in pain and held his leg.

"Oh no, we aren't done yet." Bret said and moved Jughead's leg back.

Jughead was a mess after the previous nights and tears streamed down his face. He screamed after the sledgehammer came down again on the same ankle and held it close to his body.

"Pathetic." Bret sneered at Jughead and walked away. Leaving Jughead alone in the middle of the woods not being able to walk.

"Jughead?" he recognized as Toni's voice. "Is that you?"

He looked up slowly to see Toni and Cheryl running toward him quickly. They gasped at the teary mess they were met with and examined his body.

"When did this happen?" Cheryl asked, looking at the stab wounds and brand.

"L-last night." Jughead stammered.

"Jesus! What happened to your leg? And, your _neck!_ " 

"Just bring me back to my house..." he said before blacking out.

But for him, blacking out was blissful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just thought that them saying was sort of ironic considering the fact that Betty may have KILLED Jughead. Smh. I'm honestly debating whether he is dead or not. What do you guys think?


	4. Inches Closer to Dying?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically there is physiological hurt between Betty and Jughead. I guess Jughead is just hurt again, and again. More ideas would be wonderful!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't posted in a while, been super busy.

Jughead awoke to a strange numbness. His disorganized thoughts echoed into the silent void and he lay still as a stone. He could see people walking around doing daily work, and he felt as if he was trapped in his own body. Unforeseen pain wracked his body and he lurched up in shock bringing his knees to meet his aching chest. His ankle throbbed manically and someone came over an rubbed on his shoulder.

"Jug, hey it's me, Betty." she said worriedly. "You're ok, just breathe Jug."

Jughead tried to take in deep breaths, but every time he tried, his chest seemed to constrict within itself and he squeezed his eyes shut. Nausea overtook his body and he stood up abruptly. The sudden weight on his ankle caused him to cry out in pain.

"Jug!" Betty said as she ran over to him. 

Jughead shook his head and limped as quick as he could over to the bathroom. He slammed the door shut and opened the toilet lit before vomiting inside. His arms shakily held himself up and he heard the door open and someone come sit behind him and rub his shoulder. He quickly looked over to see FP give him a sympathetic smile.

He turned back around and expelled his contents out until he shakily flushed the toilet and fell back into FP's lap. 

"Do you know what happened last night, Jug?" FP said as he continued to rub his shoulder.

Jughead strained to get words to form out of his raw throat, "Y-yes, I remember Toni and Cheryl finding me in the woods."

FP cursed quietly, "You were pretty injured last night, along with all of the other wounds you already had."

"Yeah I know dad," Jughead whispered. "But I don't want you to get hurt. Although I know that Bret will probably break his promise once I'm dead. I want to prevent it for as long as possible."

FP's thoughts broke from Jughead's sobs wracking his body. Jughead closed his eyes and turned himself around to cry into FP. FP frowned and rubbed Jughead's shoulder once again. He needed to find Bret and kill him. He felt awful just standing by as Jughead was almost dying each night.

"You can't go back tonight, Jughead." a voice said from the door.

Toni and Cheryl stood in the door looking concerned. Clearly he looked way worse than he felt. He shook his head in disagreement and fell back into FP's lap sniffling.

"What time is it?" Jughead asked quietly.

"4:00." Toni said. "You slept through most of the day and still look exhausted."

They sat in silence until a crash from the room next door sent them all jumping, making Jughead wince as all of his wounds pulled. FP helped Jughead to the other room as Cheryl and Toni ran over. They were greeted with the same four cloaked figures as yesterday.

"Where's Jughead?" Bret said as he pulled off his hood.

"Go to _hell_ you disgusting _freak!_ " Cheryl spat as Toni held her back.

"Gladly." Donna said as she pulled off her hood. "But first, we need Jughead... and Betty."

"There is no way in hell you are taking Betty." Jughead said as he struggled to stand. 

Donna's expression changed once she got a good look at him which didn't go unmissed from Jughead. 

"I'm afraid there is," Bret said. "As I recall, I said no fighting back Forsythe otherwise there would be _drastic_ consequences."

"Take me." FP said stepping forward. "Instead of Jughead, take me."

"No, Mr. Jones." Bret said as he sneered. "You don't fully understand the deal I made with Forsythe, so there isn't anything in there saying you can take his place."

The two figures in the back searched around the house and brought back a startled Betty. Jughead's face fell and he was grabbed in the arm by Donna. Before anyone could protest, the six teenagers had stepped through the threshold and out of the house.

_________________

They had arrived at the woods after twenty minutes. A walk that would've taken five but took longer with Jughead's injured ankle. Donna had led him the entire way as Betty kept shooting her toxic glances.

Bret had harshly grabbed Jughead and handcuffed him to a tree while tying Betty to a tree opposite to him.

"You better not touch her." Jughead snarled as Bret walked past him.

Bret in return had grabbed his throat and pushed him further into the tree. Betty screamed and pulled against her binds which made Bret push harder.

"Listen, _Forsythe._ " Bret said quietly. "I've already told you no fighting back over twenty times and I'm losing my patience. I'm not going to hurt Ponytail over there but you better zip it. No protesting no matter what I tell you to do tonight."

Jughead struggled to breathe and could feel Bret lifting him higher off the ground. He forgot how long ago he'd eaten a meal...

" _Understand?_ " he snarled.

Jughead nodded and Bret let go. Jughead slid down the tree fast and the sudden pull dislocated his shoulder. He let out a cry of pain and hid his face from Betty. She was pulling harshly on

her binds and sobbing watching Jughead get hurt. This wasn't even the beginning of it and she already couldn't take it.

Hours went by and Donna had brought Betty food and water to eat after it started to get dark. She ate it knowing that if she refused, Jughead would face consequences. She kept glancing at Jughead seeing how malnourished and dehydrated he was. His eyes were glassy and he was barely registering anything. Since he was in a shirt and shorts, the cold winter air stung his skin. Around eight o'clock, Bret came forward with the other two figures holding numerous torture devices. Betty and Jughead swallowed hard as Bret advanced with a wooden bat.

"Now Forsythe, just remember our little deal, ok?" Bret said. "And I won't hurt your little girlfriend over there."

Betty sobbed during the next hour as she watched Jughead beaten with he bat. The other two figures had grabbed a knives. One continued to stab Jughead harshly in the abdomen. The other advanced only when Jughead was crying and tears and blood stained his shirt. One of his eyes had completely swollen shut and his head was bleeding. His shirt was torn to shreds and Betty could see the numerous added stab wounds that covered his abdomen, apart from blood. The hooded figure grabbed the knife and started carving something into Jughead's arm. 

Betty will never forget the heartbreaking screams that came out of Jughead's body that night. She covered her mouth in horror as the figure drew back leaving Jughead unconscious from the pain of it all. She couldn't take it anymore. She sobbed into her shoulder and Donna wiped her tears away.

"Don't _touch_ me." Betty seethed.

"Why do you think I'm not over there hurting him? Why do you think I stay on the sidelines every single night when they come inches closer to killing him? I'm not happy about this at all but there is no way I can stand up to Bret because I know he'll kill me."

Betty gaped at Donna but a thump turned her attention back to Jughead.

"We're going to play a little game, Ponytail." Bret said as he removed the remains of Jughead's shirt. Jughead writhed against the two other figures grip, but was too weak to escape.

He pulled out a pocketknife and made a tic-tac-toe board into Jughead's back. Betty winced at the quiet whimpers tearing their way out of Jughead's throat.

"X's or O's?" Bret asked cheerily.

"Are you actually joking?" Betty said incredulously. Donna grabbed her arm as a warning to not do anything stupid. "Uh, O's"

"Ok Ponytail, if you win, then you get to take him home and we leave. If I win, then he's going to go through another round of beating, but with brass knuckles. If it's a draw, we'll play again. Where do you choose to move?"

Jughead gave Betty a defeated look and turned away. Betty sighed, "Middle."

Bret moved middle right after that, "Top right." Betty instructed.

Bret moved in the bottom left, blocking Betty's move, "Top left." she said.

Bret moved bottom right which made Betty and Donna both smile. "Top middle."

Bret marked where she asked but then drew a sickening line through the middle of her win.

"Good job, I'll be seeing you tomorrow Forsythe." he said as he slapped Jughead's back hard.

Bret, Donna and the two other figures walked into the forest after untying Betty and Betty ran to Jughead. She lay Jughead on the floor and he looked at her tiredly.

"I a-actually feel like I'm g-gonna die." he said weakly. "I'm h-hungry but I know if I eat anything I'll just puke it up."  
  


Betty sighed jokingly, "Of _course_ you're thinking about food."

Jughead gave into a small smile and Betty went to help him up by his right arm.

"Not that arm, Betts." he said urgently. "He d-dislocated it."

Betty led a shivering Jughead home and he started leaning further and further into her. She stopped when he collapsed into her in front of the house and pulled him inside. 

" _Someone help me!_ " she yelled and everyone in the house came running to Jughead's rescue.

Alice hugged her and looked her over, examining her blood-stained clothes, "Are you hurt? FP told me what happened."

"No, mom. Bret just brought me to watch him..." Betty drew in a breath. "Come inches to dying."

FP gasped and ran out of the room, slamming the bathroom door. Alice and Betty heard the sound of retching and Alice ran to help him.

Cheryl, Toni, Archie, and Veronica were all getting bandages and medication for Jughead. Betty stood against the wall crying, she knew she couldn't bear to see Jughead get injured one more time.

She just wondered how much more he could take until he caved in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy! <3 The next chapter should be coming out soon. I'm going to try to add some more perspective of Veronica and Archie, just probably not this chapter.


	5. Weakness Can Take Different Forms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They make Jug go to the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Give me ideas for more stories! I may or may not have one coming out very soon...hehe.

At this point, Jughead felt like a wilting rose.

He knew that his time was running out and if the long nights kept going, he wouldn’t be able to make it. He knew his thoughts were selfish and that he couldn’t let FP, Betty, and the rest of his friends down. He tried to lift his eyelids, finding them unbearably heavy and he sensed his body blossom in pain. After a solid five minutes of struggling to even open his eyelids, they slowly pried open and stale yellow sunlight cracked through the blinds of the nearest window. His eyes watered ever so slightly, maybe due to the sudden light, maybe to the overbearing feeling of defeat.

The soft voices fluttering throughout the house did nothing to help the headache blooming behind his eyes and he lifted his hand tiredly to his forehead. A violent cough rattled his core and he squeezed his eyes shut hoping that even for a second, the pain would disappear.

He felt a hand rest on his leg, “Jug?” he opened his eyes to see Betty sitting solemnly next to him on the couch. His face was laced with worry, eyes clouded with concern and she smiled sadly at him. “Are you ok?”

Physically? No. Mentally? Not.

“I’ve been better.” whoa, his voice was raspier than he thought it would’ve turned out. “Are you ok, Betty? Last night was pretty… intense.”

She laughed lightly and nodded, “Trust me, Jughead Jones, I watched my father die right before my eyes. As much as it hurt me to watch you get beaten, I’m much more worried about you. You haven’t eaten in at least two days and along with being injured and sick, that doesn’t help you get better.”

“I can’t.”

Betty looked over at Jughead to see him shaking softly, “I can’t eat anything. Believe me, I’ve tried.” he chuckles at the irony at it all. “Little did I know that by the end of this week, I would be laying here barely able to get up.”

Betty shook her head, she still couldn’t get why the world had to give all the pain to someone who would gladly take it so easily. He’d sacrificed himself before for his family, he would do it again. She rubbed little circles into Jughead’s knee trying to comfort him in any way.

“I had tried eating a bagel yesterday morning, before you and my dad came in,” he said, voice raspy. “That’s what had made me throw up, anything I eat, I’ll end up throwing up twice the amount, making me feel weaker.” His voice sounded slurred slightly and he put his hand upon his forehead and frowned.

“Jug let me see,” Betty said as she scooted close so she could feel his temperature. “Jug, you need to eat something, even if it’s just a slice of bread. You’re too injured which is causing you to become ill.”

Jughead just nodded and closed his eyes. The headache had intensified and he slung his arm over his head, groaning all while Betty came back with the smallest slice of bread ever. Seeing him like this made her feel like she was missing a piece inside of her. Jughead opened an eye and got up slowly. The sudden head rush caused the corners of his vision to swim black and he lowered his head. With the mounds of blankets off, Betty finally saw all the damage done last night and cringed.

Bruises and welts were scattered among his torso and he brought his bloodshot eyes up to meet Betty’s.

“If I need to throw up, help me to the bathroom please,” he said. Betty nodded and handed him the slice.

One might think that the irony of it all was to overrated, two teenagers stressing over a single slice of bread. But both knew at that moment that it wasn’t about that, it was about the countless tortures that had inflicted Jughead’s heart through the past couple of days. He took the smallest bite out of the bread and withdrew it immediately. He pushed himself up with his arm and fell back down, pain elicitating a whimper out of him as he remembered the feeling of the rope snapping and him dislocating it, wondering who had, had the knowledge to relocate it. 

Betty helped him up and over to the bathroom where he collapsed to the ground in a bloody mess and expelled all of his contents. Betty watched helplessly as he kept retching into the toilet, painful-looking heaves wracking his whole body. His arms shook visibly, his throat stung immensely all for one silly little piece of bread. Betty moved to comfort him and he flushed the toilet and fell back into her in a sobbing mess.

“I’m going to die, aren’t I?” he said with tears running down his face. “I can’t even eat for God’s sake.” Betty shook her head and whispered comforting nothing’s into his ear as he sobbed into her chest. 

It wasn’t like Jughead to show his emotions, something usually so carefully masked and hidden by the naked eye that no one ever questioned him about it. Betty kept on consoling him as Veronica and Archie appeared in the doorway. They both stood there with their faces shaped into concerned masks. Jughead eventually calmed down, letting   
Archie brings him over to the couch half-asleep before he fell into a slumber, exhausted. 

“He just had a slice of bread,” Betty said quietly. “I don’t know how much longer he can go without eating.” 

“B, whether you like it or not, we’re going to have to bring him to the ER,” Veronica said as she put a hand on her shoulder. “We can lie about what happened, we just have to get him into proper care before he dies of malnourishment and dehydration.”

Betty sighed and nodded. After about thirty minutes of deciding on how to handle getting him to the hospital, the three looked back at Jughead to see his face change in his sleep. He started moving around slightly and trying to get the blankets off himself. He started mumbling things and thrashing around wildly.

“Jug! Hey, come on Jug, wake up.” Archie said as he tried to hold down Jughead to avoid him from injuring himself. 

Jughead shot upward into a sitting position and his face was pale, bruises standing out against it like blood in the snow. He brought his knees up to his face and sat there shaking. He flinched as Betty put a hand on his shoulder and looked up, eyes red from crying. 

“Jug…” Betty said softly. “What happened?” She felt Jughead shaking beneath her hand and burning up all at the same time.

“Nothing.” he rasped and looked away. “Just a nightmare. I didn’t know you guys were still sitting here.” He shifted uncomfortably and tried to lie down again, Betty stopping him abruptly.

“Jug, we have to take you to the ER.” Jughead’s eyes widened and he shook his head, a protest upon his lips.

“Jughead Jones, we know that Bret will most likely be pissed, but you can’t go another night like this,” Veronica said as she moved forward to sit next to him. “We already came up with a lie to assure them that you didn’t have anything to do with Bret.”

Jughead thought about this for a second, he eventually agreed and Archie helped him to the car. FP met them in the driveway and concern was clear on his face.

“Whoa, where are you going with him?” FP said cautiously. 

“We’re bringing him to the hospital, Mr. Jones,” Archie said as he helped him into the car. “We won’t tell anyone that Bret was the one to hurt him and we’ll make that very clear to him.” 

FP sighed and drove the kids to the hospital, silent along the way and sneaking worried glances at his son. They soon got to the hospital and FP played his part perfectly.

“My son was kept by some gang members in Canada and we cleaned him up but brought him here to see the full damage,” FP said as doctors led Jughead to a hospital room to see what damage had been to the boy.

Betty grabbed Jughead’s phone and texted Bret, We brought him to the hospital, said that he had been kidnapped by some gang members in Canada. He agreed to continue the deal once the doctors agree to let him go. 

Now they just needed to wait and see what happened to him.

_____________________

About two hours later, around sunset, the doctors came out with distressed looks on their faces. 

“How is he?” Archie said standing up. 

The doctor sighed, “Well, he was extremely malnourished and dehydrated. He had multiple stab wounds on his abdomen and a brand on his hip. He has a sprained metatarsal lacerations on his arm and back. He also looks as if he had struggled from strangulation.”

“Jeez…” Veronica said. “Can we go see him?”

“Yes, he’s in room 312.” the doctor said while walking away.

The sight of Jughead was heartbreaking. He was hooked up to a feeding tube and he looked extremely weak. The wounds that they’d already seen looked worse against the institutional white aura of the room. He smiled weakly and beckoned them over to him.

“How do you feel Jug?” FP said as he pulled up a chair to the side of Jughead’s bed. “The doctors explained the injuries you had.”

“Well, I’ve been better,” he whispered. “My voice kind of gave out though.” He started laughing uncontrollably and Betty rolled her eyes. 

“Yep, they’ve got you on some good stuff haven’t they?” she said and Veronica giggled.

“Are you high Jughead?” she said as she and Betty sat down.

“Maybe,” he said and shrugged. “This is the first time in forever it seems that I haven’t felt any pain at all.”

The four friends and FP talked for hours, dreading nightfall but hoping at the same time that Bret would just give up leave the boy alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Comment what other torture mechanisms I should use because I have nothing.... (if you don't want to, then don't...I need serious help.)


End file.
